It's all about the heart...

The older I get, the more I realize that it really is all about the heart! By that I mean that a person's actions, attitudes, reactions, passion, goals, success and whole direction of life arise out of the heart. That doesn't mean that the person necessarily realizes this reality. In fact, I suspect that most people live like I did for many years...unaware of the ways that their heart was affecting them.

Proverbs 4:23 has been a key verse for author John Eldredge and for good reason. The NIV translation is: "Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it." There are two essential points of the verse. First of all, the writer warns that we must guard our heart "...above all else...". Above all else means that we are to care for our hearts before we care for our bodies, our minds, even before our souls! The heart refers to that part of us that contains not only our emotions, but also our motivations, disappointments, dreams, and aspirations. It is the seat of our very reason for living. Someone with a healthy "heart" will never contemplate suicide. Thus the reason to "guard" our hearts! A healthy heart is expressed through things like dance, music, poetry, and ultimately joy!

The second part of this verse contains the statement that everything we do flows from the heart. That's quite a statement! Everything we do...whether good or bad...whether mundane or exciting...flows out of the heart. The heart is in fact our internal generator. It powers all of our actions and also sets the direction of our life. If we have received the new covenant heart, our hearts will be good and our actions will bear good fruit.

I've learned how critical it is to take time to feed my heart. The "heart food" we need is different for each of us. For me, a day of quiet like today in front of the fire rates pretty high on the heart scale. Add in some great books, time on the guitar and it only gets better! After a day like that, I'm prepared to tackle most anything...as the Lord is with me!